Commercially available three dimensional printers, such as the ProJet™ 3D Printers manufactured by 3D Systems of Rock Hill, S.C., use inks, which are also known as build materials, that are jetted through a print head as a liquid to form various three-dimensional objects or parts. Other three dimensional printing systems also use an ink that is jetted through a print head. In some instances, the ink is solid at ambient temperatures and converts to liquid at elevated jetting temperatures. In other instances, the ink is liquid at ambient temperatures.
Many inks provide printed parts that are transparent or translucent at room temperature (about 25° C.). However, it is sometimes desirable to produce opaque rather than transparent or translucent printed parts. Some applications, including some dental modeling applications, require opaque materials. Opaque materials, in some instances, can be examined more easily and more accurately than translucent or transparent materials. Similarly, automatic surface scanning methods sometimes require or prefer the use of opaque materials.
In addition, the use of pigments to render inks opaque can present manufacturing challenges, such as the need for continual circulation of pigmented inks and/or frequent cleaning or replacement of print heads.